1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a system for retrieving a medical picture from a data base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A diagnosis for a patient may be based on a medical picture of the patient. The medical picture may be taken with a special medical apparatus, such as an X-ray or a magnetic resonance apparatus, or with a standard camera. A doctor analyzes the medical picture and eventually makes the diagnosis. If the doctor is not sure about her/his decision, then she/he may compare the patient's medical picture with a reference medical picture which, in general, originates from a different patient who was assigned the same diagnosis. If the reference medical picture and the patient's medical picture are comparable, i.e. if both medical pictures show, for instance, similar or comparable abnormalities specific to the diagnosis, then the doctor can be reassured that her/his diagnosis is very likely correct.
In order to obtain the reference medical picture the doctor may consult a special data base. Such a data base is, for example, available for eye related diseases. This data base, the Multimedia Online Database Ophthalmology (“MODO”) is maintained by the Online Journal of Ophthalmology and can be contacted over the Internet (http://www.onjoph.com/modo/).
In order to retrieve the reference medical picture the doctor must know the relevant diagnosis a priori. Therefore, if the doctor is not sure about her/his diagnosis or does not know the diagnosis at all, then she/he cannot easily find a reference medical picture which will match the patient's medical picture.